Detroit's Shakespeare in Prison to offer workshop for juveniles

Shakespeare in Prison, a program currently operating at Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti, will hold a 12-week seminar for youth at the Washtenaw County Youth Center, thanks to funding from new grants.

Detroit Public Theatre's Shakespeare in Prison program has received a grant to expand to work with juveniles.

The program currently works with female prisoners at the Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti. The $15,000 Michigan Humanities Council grant has in part allowed it to start a 12-week workshop with young people in treatment at the Washtenaw County Youth Center.

The 12-week program started in February, with about eight juveniles participating. It has cost Shakespeare in Prison $3,000. Youth Arts Alliance is providing administrative funding and other assistance, said Frannie Shepherd-Bates, the theater's director of programs and Shakespeare in Prison.

The organization will stage a two-week intensive session this summer and another 12-week in the fall, Shepherd-Bates said.

The Detroit Public Theatre also received a $20,000 grant from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan for the original Ypsilanti program, she said.

The program works with inmates for nine months, helping them produce and perform a fully staged Shakespeare play. Advocates say program alumni have lower recidivism rates. Of 27 women discharged from the program so far, two have re-offended, according to the website.

The 5-year-old program will stage "Richard III" for the prison community in June.

Shakespeare in Prison is also studying the development of its participants this season, aiming to collect data to help inform future work, according to the website.